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Reading Writing Skills The story of … hero or villain? Spellings

Manxman Illiam Dhone (brown-haired William in English!) lived 400 years ago. He This week’s worked for the English family (the Stanleys) who ruled the in those days. spellings theme is words ending in When the broke out in 1642, James Stanley (the ) left ‘ness’. the Isle of Man to go and fight for his friend Charles II (the king of England).

But James Stanley was captured in a battle! His wife Charlotte wanted tried to save fitness her husband, saying “If you let James Stanley go, I will give you the Isle of Man!’ madness People in the Isle of Man didn’t like the sound of that, and Illiam Dhone led a Manx 1. Why did Manx sadness Rebellion and took over Rushen. Illiam Dhone refused to swap the Isle of Man people leave bread to save James Stanley, and he was celebrated by as a hero, in lots of hardness and cheese out every old songs and poems. He became a powerful man. However, James Stanley’s son was madness January? The Visual not happy with Illiam Dhone! foolishness Literacy sheet has th e video link and Illiam Dhone was accused of stealing lots of money, and he ran away. He was arrested happiness some questions. and brought back to Castletown. In his trial the main judge was… James Stanley’s silliness

Choose Level 1, 2 or 3 son! Illiam Dhone was found guilty of treason and sentenced to be shot at Hango Hill nastiness or do them all! (near King William’s College), on the 2nd January 1663. carelessness When the English government heard Illiam Dhone had been killed, they were angry that he hadn’t had a fair trial, and gave some money to Illiam’s family to say sorry. Learn them, find out what they all mean, and organise Over to you… persuasive writing your own test for Friday! So, was Illiam Dhone a hero who stood up for the people of the Isle of Man? Or was he a traitor that was just trying to get money and power for 2. What ancient To help you learn himself? secret does them, maybe you Did he really steal the money, or was he set up? If he was innocent, then Airport can come up with why did he run away?? sentences or hold? Open up your Read All About It to Hango What do you think is the truth? Write a short piece to convince me stories that use find out! Hill! that Illiam Dhone was either a hero or a traitor! Give me good reasons! the words!

A tale of long ago in the Isle of Man

In the ancient times, on the last night of January, Manx people believed the spirit of St Bridget (Breeshey) roamed the island, looking for a place to stay. If she stayed at your house, then you would have good luck for the whole year! So that night, people would make a bed ready and leave food and drink out, hoping she would come.

Level One:

1. Where did the old lady prepare her bed for Breeshey?

Level Two:

2. How did the old lady feel when she found the food and drink was gone and the bed had been used? How do you know?

Level Three:

3. Juan Lewin never told the old the old lady that it was actually him that had eaten the food, so she lived her whole life thinking she had been visited by the spirit.

Do you think that was a good thing or a bad thing to do? Why do you think so? Read all about…. The Battle of Ronaldsway!

When you think of Ronaldsway, you probably think of the airport . Planes, runways and expensive sandwiches! But would you imagine that 745 years ago, on a cold October morning, hundreds of pe ople died in a bloody battle?

Ronaldsway is a good place for an airport because it is large and flat, perfect for building runways for planes to land and take off. In 1936 the airport was still very small and there were plans to make it bigger. But when workers were digging in the fields around the airfield they found something quite shocking.

Discovering fallen warriors

The y discovered a large number of very old skeletons. They seemed to be thrown together rather than carefully buried, and they realised they had found a mass burial of fallen soldiers from a great battle.

What is the story of the battle?

Back in the 1200s, the Manx Viking king Godred Magnusson lived in .

The Isle of Man had become part of in 1266, but King Magnusson rebelled against this and forced all Scottish soldiers to leave the Isle of Man.

The Scottish king Alexander III did not like this, and in 1275 sent a strong army back to the Isle of Man to end the rebellion.

The Scottish army camped at Langness, and sent an offer to Castle Rushen that there would be no need to fight if the Manx king accepted Scottish rule. But Magnusson rejected the offer and the next morning, 8th October 1275, the Scottish and the Manx armies went to battle, right where the airport is today!

What happened to the Manx army?

The Scottish army were much better trained and had much better weapons, and the Manx army lost 537 soldiers that day. Some say King Magnusson died with them on the battlefield, others say he escaped and lived in Wales.

Either way, he was the last of the Viking Kings of Mann!

So next time you see the runways and airfield and Ronaldsway, or visit Langness, remember it is the place of an ancient battle! Does anyone else in your family know about this? Ask them!